Pilot Hopes New Charter Business Will Pick Up Soon

Business and real estate - If it's service you want...

Brian Thorpe's Plane Skips The Drive To Orlando In Exchange For Business Travelers' Convenience.

August 1, 1993|By Susan Hopper, Sentinel Correspondent

It's a common flight pattern for local business people: Drive one hour or more to Orlando International Airport and take a one- or two-hour plane ride somewhere.

Brian Thorpe hopes potential customers will find that to be a silly practice. Thorpe, pilot and coordinator of Regional Air Charter, said he's mainly aiming to serve the area's business travelers with convenience on their minds.

Thorpe's bottom line: Save the drive to Orlando and fly out of the Leesburg airport on his charter plane instead.

''Let's face it, it's an hour and 15 minutes to get to the (Orlando) airport and park,'' Thorpe said. ''In an hour and 15 minutes, I can be in Tallahassee. We're into saving people time over traveling on the airlines. It's more convenient and plus you leave when you want from right here in town.''

Customers can get a ride on the charter service's twin-engine, five-seater plane, which in an unusual setup is owned by Florida Regional Emergency Services, probably known more for providing ambulance and other medical help. Thorpe was a corporate pilot for Florida Regional and suggested expanding into the charter business.

The cost for the charter service varies, but getting close to your actual destination, Thorpe said, is another big plus when flying via his plane.

''If you have to go to Athens, Ga., the closest you could go (via major airlines) is Atlanta, then drive for an hour. I can fly right to Athens,'' he said. Thorpe has flown clients to Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, the Carolinas and Georgia, in addition to many Florida cities.

The price of flying on a charter, Thorpe said, is comparable or more economical for a small group of three to five travelers when compared with the major airlines: ''Our price isn't going to change whether you book 14 days in advance or for the next day.''

Certified to fly as a carrier since January, Regional Air Charter, Thorpe said, is looking to a prosperous future.

''The small industries that are here now are going to eventually need to travel a little bit for them to grow,'' he said. ''We're just hoping to be along there with them. I think we are just going to fill a niche somewhere in this area.''

Though the service is not authorized to travel overseas yet, Thorpe said the company is looking into beginning charter service to the Bahamas and Mexico, and hopes to become a multi-plane business.

The antique plane, Thorpe said, is one of about 220 of that model ever built, with only 30 remaining today, and only 18 of those still flying.

Thorpe's love of flying goes back to his childhood days. ''My dad was a pilot, and I was a licensed pilot before I entered college.''

A Purdue University graduate with a major in aviation technology and management, Thorpe worked for the now-defunct Eastern Airlines and then with his wife, Phyllis, bought their first flying business in Miami in 1983.

Three years ago, the couple came to Lake County and opened Thorpe Aviation. Thorpe said he tries to maintain balance between his work for the charter service and for his own business, often giving sightseeing tours and flight instruction on the weekends, while doing charter work during the week. For now, he said, he's concentrating more on the development of the charter business.